Tank Companions?

[Lone Wolf]

I have a 80 liter aquarium which currently houses two bolivian butterflys, one kribensis, two algae eaters, bristlenoses, 3 tigerbarbs, two golden barbs, one firemouth, one flying fox and one upside down cat. My tanks not very bright and I want to move out most of them leaving the two bolivian butterflys, kribensis and the bottom feeders. What would you suggest as good tank mates for these fish? I have drivftwood and caves, the substrate is sand, the tank is well cycled and all the fish have good temperments- ie these is no fighting. I have a seperate community tank with live bearers and tetras and the colours are amazing. If I have to I can also move out the kribensis. I like dwarf cichlids but there dont seem to be many that are colourful. I also want fish that will swim around the top more, there dosnt seem to be much movement in my tank at the moment.
Any suggestions for tank mates?

 

[Wills]

For that kind of stocking realisitcally you want 80 gallons not 80 liters.....

The only fish IMO that wont outgrow your tank in a community set up are the Bolivian Rams, nearly all the other fish either grow too big, a bit bigger but more aggressive, larger but very active or when kept in a proper school requirement would over stock your tank.

If you like dwarf cichlids, South American biotopes are very easy to do in this size tank. Just remember to think small and colourful if thats what you want. For example if this were my tank and I wanted activity over all levels, lots of colour and dwarf cichlids I would do

3x Apistogramma Panduro - 1 male 2 females (males are neon blue and red tails and females are a panda pattern yellow and black)
6x Green Neon Tetras
6x Marbled Hatchet Fish
6x Pygmy Cories.
2/3x Zebra Snails

That way you have activity on all levels lots and lots of colour and activity and the interaction of cichlids with the apistos.

Other dwarf cichlids you could consider in an 80 liter tank are things like - Laetacara Curviceps, Laetacara Dorsiger, Laetacara sp. Buckelkopf, Laetacara sp. Orangeflossen, Apistogramma Borreli, Apistogramma sp.Steel Blue, Apistogramma Aggazizi sp. Fire Red, Apistogramma Cacatuoides tripple red, Apistogramma Vijeta, Apistogramma Nijsenni, Nannacara Anomala or Dwarf Checkerboard Cichlids - a few species under this name but not a lot of difference. - Plenty there for you to have a look at

But in that tank I would stick to one species of cichlid - so for the Apistos thats a trio of one male to two females but in all other dwarf species a pair works best with 1 male and 1 female.

Wills

 

[Lone Wolf]

Wow thats alot of fish lol. I'll have a look through them all and see what catches my eye. Im in New Zealand and unfortunatly we are limited to what fish are on offer, but thank you for your well thought out answer

 

[Wills]

Hi no problem, I know it can be hard sometimes to find fish but it is possible usually. Could you get them sent from Asia to you? I know there is a massive Apisto following there. There is a guy on Youtube called Japes and he has some amazingly rare fish in his tanks and he is in AU which is a bit different I know but you would be suprised how some fish are around your region and you have no idea Walking into a specialist shop for the first time is a fantastic feeling.

Wills

 

[Lone Wolf]

I looked through all the fish and I cant find any link to breeders for them so far I really like the apostos. Unfortunatly trying to import fish into New Zealand costs more money than I can afford with my study XD But im not giving up I am determined. I was thinking to remove the golden barbs, fire mouth and the tiger barbs, keeping the rams, kribensis and the bottom feeders. I have found someone who wants my flying fox so the remaining bottom feeders will be the two algae eaters, the upsidedown cat and the bristlenoses.
So far making this list:
2X algae eaters
2X male bolivian rams
4X young golden bristlenose (I think)
1X male kribensis
1X upside down cat

I was talking to someone today who reckons I could put a electric yellow? I did some reading and some sites agree whilst others disagree. Would it be possible to add any more fish to this amount in my size tank or should I cut back still more? Id still like some top level swimmers with colour, would golden danios/platys/swordtails or tetras be an option here? Or are my cichlids still a bit too agressive for them? You said only one species of cichlid, so if I couldnt put in the electric yellow does that mean I need to remove the kribensis as well? If this was the case could I put in more bolivian rams?

Thanks for all you help and patience